Skin Care: How to Ditch Blackheads

Yeah you, the girl going nuts on her nose in front of the magnifying mirror. Relax. You're blackhead-popping bonanza isn't doing any long-term good. (If you can't keep your hands from picking, at least learn how to extract blackheads the right way.)

You see, you need to treat them before you have the urge to pick, because the longer blackheads go untreated, the more they expand your pores, and the longer they stay expanded, the bigger your pores become. Not pretty.

To get you started I asked experts Lena Bratschi, CIDESCO (an international beauty therapy association) trained esthetician and founder of Carasoin Spa in Beverly Hills, Calif., and dermatologist and Medical Director of Epicuren, Dr. Harold Lancer how to annihilate these bad boys. Here is the guide they gave me:

black·head noun (blak-hed)

"Blackheads are basically the same as whiteheads, except blackheads have an oxidized fatty deposit. And when fatty deposits are oxidized, they turn dark. So they're called blackheads. When they're not oxidized, they're called whiteheads," says Lancer. "Blackheads differ from other pimples because they are open, and not enclosed by a layer of skin like most spots or pimples."

Follow these steps to clear and prevent blackheads:

Step 1: Cleanse

Properly cleanse the skin, preferably with a salicylic acid-based cleanser, which will help treat and prevent blackheads, says Bratschi. This will both act as an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory. Try Dermalogica mediBac Clearing Clearing Skin Wash, $40.

Step 2: Tone

Use an alcohol-free product that contains Totarol (from the Totara tree, which again, is antimicrobial and antibacterial), says Bratschi. This closes pores and puts back the acid mantle (basically it restores the pH of your skin). Try Astara Blue Flame Purifying Toning Mist, $39.

Step 3: Spot treat problem areas

A serum containing Nyacinamide (vitamin B3) and Papain (papaya enzyme) will be most effective at treating blackheads, says Bratschi. The Nyacinamide helps acne-affected skin and decreases oiliness, which is a component of blackheads. Papain is an exfoliant, which will help remove dead skin cells that clog pores. Try Glotherapeutics gloClear Healing Gel, $30.

I try all these things and my nose is still covered in black heads, the only remedy I seem to find is by popping them and even that is temporary... yeah I know I'm not suppose to do it, but even the pore stips don't work... my black heads have declaired war on me :(